S. Negotiation Workshop

The Negotiation Workshop provides students with an experiential, simulation-based introduction to the theory and practice of negotiation. The course will consider such topics as integrative and distributive bargaining; barriers to agreement and ways to overcome them; negotiation skills such as listening, communication, and persuasion; the determinants of bargaining power; client relationships; negotiation ethics; and the role of culture, gender, and race in negotiation. This Section of the Workshop provides students with all the foundational skills, principles, tools and methods of the other sections, but through an international lens. The cross-border elements in international negotiation add another set of challenges to the theory and practice of negotiation. In particular, the heightened information asymmetries brought on by differences in culture, language, value systems, international subjectivity of the parties, as well as interaction with foreign laws and the conflict of laws. These factors can exacerbate the difficulties of communication between the parties and create additional barriers to agreement. Students will be expected to prepare for and take part in role plays, to keep a weekly journal in which they analyze their negotiation experiences, and to participate in a final project that includes a 4000-5000 written analysis of a capstone negotiation. The course will be taught in a small group consisting of no more than 20 students. Because of the experiential and team-based nature of the coursework, class attendance is required. If you anticipate missing more than one class session over the course of the term, you should not take the course (or should take it in a different term when you will not have such conflicts). Unanticipated absences due to illness or similar supervening circumstances will be accommodated as is reasonable; makeup activities may be required as part of the accommodation.